Spring Clean-Up won't disappear in '18

Highland Park officials aren't yet ready to scrap the popular Spring Clean-Up trash program, despite evidence of fly dumping and complaints of litter created by scavengers rummaging through the discarded items.

City officials agreed last week to allow at least another year to publicize a new option that allows residents to discard oversized items year-round. The city's 2016 contract with Lakeshore Recycling Systems allows residents to place one bulky item — such as a mattress or table — at the curb each week at no additional charge.

A survey, however, suggests that residents are fond of the traditional Spring Clean-Up for disposing of unwanted items that have accumulated in their basements and garages. Sixty-eight percent of 390 survey respondents opposed eliminating Spring Clean-Up, even if the change lowered the rates paid for garbage collection.

Lakeshore Recycling Systems has reported that people who do not reside in Highland Park abuse the Clean-Up program by dropping off waste at the homes of friends and family members. The city also has received complaints about fly dumping and abuse by construction contractors.

Last spring, haulers found about 70 discarded sinks at a single location in Highland Park, according to Joshua Connell, managing partner with Lakeshore Recycling Systems.

The firm collected 483 tons of bulk trash during the Clean-Up event, held on four consecutive Saturdays to cover four geographic zones in the city.

"We have a lot of material left that cannot be picked up, and we have to find a way to get rid of it," said Hayley Garard, assistant to the city manager during a recent committee discussion. The items may be "white goods" such as major appliances, or construction materials.

The city considered replacing the once-a-year collection with a continuous program when it entered into the contract with Lakeshore. But the city council elected to phase in the change after Lakeshore offered to provide both services at no additional charge. The firm's contract expires in March 2022.

"There are 11 other communities that offer Spring Clean-Up in Lake County, but those tend to be communities with much smaller populations," Garard said.

Council members agreed Sept. 11 to continue Spring Clean-Up in 2018 and step up promotion for the year-round option. According to the city, the survey showed that 40 percent of residents were not aware they could leave one large item at the curb each week.